Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today presided over the graduation ceremony for 1,171 new police officers at Madison Square Garden and announced new all-time lows will be set in 2013 for the fewest homicides and fewest shootings in recorded city history. There have been 332 homicides so far this year, which is a reduction of 20 percent from the previous record low, which was established last year – and homicides have fallen nearly 50 percent since 2001. Similarly, the number of shootings have fallen by 20 percent from last year’s record low – with 1,093 shootings through Thursday, December 26th – down from 1,608 in 2001, a 32 percent reduction. Overall crime is now down 32 percent since 2001. The crime decline has not been achieved by putting more people in prison – it been achieved while putting far fewer people in prison as incarceration rates in New York City have decreased by 36 percent since 2001. Nationwide, the opposite has been true as incarceration rates have increased by three percent nationwide 2001. The new officers recently completed more than six months of Police Academy training and the first major deployment for the class is the New Year’s Eve celebration and countdown in Times Square on Tuesday, December 31st.

“New York’s crime-fighting strategies have made us America’s safest big city – and one that cities across the globe want to learn from,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Twelve years ago, no one thought New York’s crime rate could go any lower. But it did: since 2001, crime has gone down by 32 percent and in a city of 8.4 million people, there have been fewer than 350 homicides, and that is largely due to the work of the fine men and women you are about to join. With all the talent and dedication in this graduating class, I know the department is positioned to build on our success.”

“Forty-seven years ago, I stood in your shoes with my fellow graduates of the New York City Police Academy,” said Police Commissioner Kelly. “I remember everything my classmates and I felt that day: the satisfaction of completing my training; the pride as I took the oath to become a full-fledged member of New York’s finest; the excitement of knowing I soon would be putting everything I learned into practice on patrol. No doubt, these are some of the emotions you're feeling today as well. Looking back, I can tell you that joining the New York City Police Department was the best career decision I ever made. I know that if you maintain the same faith and commitment that brought you here today, it will be the best one you ever made too.”

Annual statistical data for shootings was first captured with the introduction of the NYPD’s Compstat crime reporting system in 1994. Comparable murder statistics date back to 1963, when the city recorded 548 homicides. The most murders New York City recorded in a single year was 2,245 murders in 1990 – an average of six murders a day. Today, New York City is averaging less than one murder a day, even though the city’s population has grown by approximately 300,000 people since 2001.

Crime Statistics

Lives Saved: Between 2002 and December 20, 2013, there were 9,285 fewer murders than during the twelve years prior to that period. This translates to:

2,530 fewer murders in the Bronx;

2,992 fewer murders in Brooklyn;

2,270 fewer murders in Manhattan;

1,374 fewer murders in Queens; and

119 fewer murders on Staten Island.

Subway Crime: In 1990, there were nearly 50 crimes per day on the subway. In 2013, there is an average of 7.1 crimes a day – a decrease of 85.8 percent – even with much higher ridership.

Crime in Schools: New York City schools are safer than ever before. Major crime in schools down 56 percent and violent crime down 55 percent since 2001.

NYCHA: Crime in NYCHA housing developments in 2012 was down 17 percent as compared to eleven years ago.

Operation Impact: Pairing rookie and veteran officers to flood high-crime zones, crime has been reduced in many of these areas by more than 30 percent. In these zones during the most recent six months there were 33 percent fewer shooting incidents, 14 percent fewer murders and a 12 percent overall reduction in major felony crime.

Operation Crew Cut: Driven by initiatives like operation crew cut in which we focus on the loosely affiliated gangs, or crews, that are responsible for 30 percent of the city’s shootings murders of young people between the ages of 13 to 21 are down by more than half this year.

2012 Murder Rate Comparisons

New York City: 419 Murders – 5.05 per 100,000

Bronx (NYC’s highest murder rate): 114 Murders – 8.10 per 100,000

Dallas: 154 Murders – 12.40 per 100,000

Chicago: 500 Murders – 18.46 per 100,000

Baltimore: 218 Murders – 34.85 per 100,000

Detroit: 386 Murders – 54.59 per 100,000

Homicide Data Since 1963, when reliable records began being kept:

About the Graduation Class

Over 40 percent of this graduating class are college graduates; 528 have earned their bachelor’s degrees and 46 hold advanced degrees, including two juris doctors. Eighty-nine of the new officers served in the United States military and 59 previously served the City of New York in other capacities, including as civilian employees of the NYPD, School Safety Agents, and Traffic Enforcement Agents. The graduating class is 56 percent white, 9 percent black, 25 percent Hispanic, 9 percent Asian, and 1 percent other. Approximately one in five new police officers immigrated to the United States from 45 different countries.